From the <scp>Editor</scp>

I am grateful for the opportunity to introduce my first issue as Editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family. This issue, Volume 87, Issue 1 will be the first produced by the University of Tennessee editorial office. The outstanding articles that make up this issue were edited by Dr. Liana Sayer and her editorial team with the University of Maryland. On February 15, 2024, the University of Tennessee editorial office officially began processing new manuscripts submitted to JMF. I am deeply appreciative to Dr. Sayer and her remarkable editorial assistants, Robyn Moore and Layne Amerikaner, for their careful and detail-oriented training as well as their ongoing support as we ensure a seamless transition in responsibility for the handling of the operations of this journal. I am also grateful to Diane Cushman, recently retired NCFR Executive Director, Jennifer Crosswhite, Alicia Jaworski, Judy Schutz, and Kevin Lynch, Interim NCFR Executive Director, for their consistent support and communication during this transition process. I am also humbled by the enthusiastic support of Dean Ellen McIntyre who did not hesitate to back me when approaching her about providing the resources needed to carry out this role for a 5-year period. Lastly, I am thankful for my wonderful colleagues at the University of Tennessee who have been thoughtful and encouraging toward me while pursuing this endeavor. When a call was made for applications for the next Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Marriage and Family, I had not initially considered applying for this position. I am grateful for a thoughtful email from Dr. Gilbert Parra, encouraging me to consider applying. From his prompting grew an excitement for what I could bring to the journal in terms of innovation and leadership. I reflected on the deep immersive experiences I had as a doctoral student reading large numbers of JMF articles in Dr. Kay Pasley's class on Advanced Family Science. In that class, I gained deep admiration for the high-quality and far-reaching work that was being published in JMF. As I thought more about those experiences, I became eager to facilitate the strong tradition of excellence and impact of the work that marks the pages of the top journal in the field of family science. Struck by this enthusiasm, I began outlining what I believe are important priorities for my time as the journal's editor. These priorities include: (a) maintaining the journal's reputation for disseminating quality, high-impact research, (b) extending the journal's international reach, (c) continuing to expand work published on marginalized groups and diverse relationship structures, (d) encouraging studies that employ rigorous and cutting-edge analytic approaches, and (e) inviting submissions that provide methodological and analytic guidance. I touch briefly on each of these priorities. The Journal of Marriage and Family is the flagship journal for the National Council on Family Relations and is considered the premier family science journal. According to Clarivate (2024), the 2023 2-year impact factor is 2.7 and the 5-year impact factor is 5.1. JMF is ranked 9 (of 66) in family studies and 34 (of 217) in sociology. The journals citation indicator is 1.88 and is ranked 1 in family studies and 19 in sociology. In 2023, JMF had 11,481 citations. I anticipate these metrics to benefit in the near future from Dr. Sayer's (2024) organization and publication of the recent mid-decade Special Issue on Theory and Methods (Volume 86, Issue 5). The journal continues to benefit from processes established by my predecessors for reducing the time it takes from submission to decision and eventual publication. The journal continues to receive a large volume of submissions from a variety of disciplines that utilize sophisticated methodological approaches and analyses. To ensure that submissions receive the care and attention they deserve as these numbers continue to climb, I have increased the number of Deputy Editors handling manuscripts for the journal. Deputy Editors have a wealth of knowledge and expertise, in content, theory and methods, that ensure manuscripts are being handled by highly skilled and trained scholars. I am grateful that the following Deputy Editors have agreed to join the editorial team: Drs. Fenaba Addo, Cassandra Chaney, Rachel Farr, Megan Haselschwerdt, Spencer James, Karen Kramer, Kei Nomaguchi, Yuying Tong, and Deadric Williams. The success of the journal also relies upon the quality and timeliness of reviews provided by members of our Editorial Board and the ad-hoc reviewers who generously give their time in providing thoughtful and meaningful feedback to help strengthen the potential contribution of the manuscripts submitted to this journal. I am in awe of their deep engagement with the articles submitted to JMF. As the number of journals continues to expand, and as individuals are further stretched, it has become all the more challenging to secure reviewers for manuscripts. In addition, as the field becomes increasingly interdisciplinary and the methods and analyses innovative, it is necessary to expand the number of scholars serving on the journal's Editorial Board. Thus, one of my priorities is to increase invitations to serve on the board as I have done with the Deputy Editors. The focus remains on ensuring that manuscripts published in JMF meet high standards of quality and excellence. This includes ensuring that manuscripts meet the high bar of articulating the ways in which they are making a meaningful contribution to the literature and that studies are meaningfully grounded in theory by demonstrating the theoretical contribution of the study. It is also imperative to ensure that studies are drawing upon solid sampling approaches and are methodologically and analytically sound. Last, it is critical that the results published in JMF demonstrate an important social significance by articulating specific implications for future research, practice (education, clinical) and/or policy (development, revision). By adhering to these standards, JMF will continue to hold a stellar reputation as a high-impact and top-tier journal. The National Council on Family Relations website reports that it publishes three international scholarly journals. The Journal of Marriage and Family has historically disseminated work published by international scholars; however, the journal has an opportunity to further bring together a global community focused on research on families and relationships. According to Clarivate (2024), over the last 3 years, the countries or regions contributing most to JMF is the United States, Germany, Canada, England, and the Netherlands. In my first year as incoming editor, I was excited to see the number of manuscripts being submitted to JMF from around the world. The field of family science stands to benefit from learning more about family relationships and processes that occur globally. Thus, one of my priorities is to identify potential mechanisms to increase the number and quality of submission of manuscripts from our international colleagues. Consistent with the vision of previous editors, it will be imperative for the journal to continue to prioritize scholarship that centers family and relationship experiences of those who belong to marginalized populations. A major success for the NCFR journals was the special issue on Transformative Family Scholarship (Volume 84, Issue 5) that brought together scholars focused on theory, practice, and research to “…investigate racial injustice and confront white supremacy within the context of the family” (Dow et al., 2022, p. 1241). This special issue, and the scholarship published therein, helped draw a focus to collectively address the structural racism that shapes the lives of individuals holding minoritized identities. My vision is that we continue this conversation in the work that fills the pages of this journal. As we expand our understanding of various relationship experiences, it seems critical to more fully attend to scholarship that investigates ethically or consensually nonmonogamous (CNM) relationships. Although CNM is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of relationship structures that de-center monogamy and mononormativity, there is a great deal of variation within CNM including those in polyamorous relationships, open marriages or open relationships, and swinging (Gupta et al., 2024). Thus, my vision is that we will begin to see scholarship on CNM relationships published in this journal. Over time, research methodology and analytic approaches have grown increasingly sophisticated to help family science scholars answer meaningful and complex questions. In reading the journal's most recent Decade in Review Articles (Williams, 2020), it is clear that scholars are drawing upon methods that incorporate multiple time points, daily diary methods, ecological momentary assessments, multiple informants, multi-level data, and health assessments (e.g., sleep disturbance, cortisol levels, blood samples, heart rate). To analyze data collected using these complicated methods and assessments, scholars use structural equation models, dyadic data analysis, multi-level modeling, latent profile or latent class analysis, meta-analysis, and dyadic response surface analysis, to name a few. In addition to quantitative methods and analyses, scholars are drawing upon new and innovative qualitative methods and analyses to develop theory and draw attention to the lived experiences of families. Thus, a priority for JMF will be to continue to attract scholarship on families and relationships that utilize advanced methodologies and analyses that can articulate these in a manner that is relatable, educational, and inspirational in sparking new ideas and conceptualizations for future research. During my time as a graduate student and emerging scholar, I learned immensely from several articles published in the Journal of Marriage and Family that provided guidance and instruction on a variety of methodological topics. These include LaRossa's (2005) article on grounded theory methods and qualitative research, Goldberg and Allen's (2015) article on how to communicate qualitative research, and Matthews' (2005, 2012) guidance on writing qualitative articles and developing a stronger culture around qualitative research among family scientists. Dr. Sayer's (2024) mid-decade special issue on Theory and Methods serves as springboard for what I foresee as an opportunity for family science scholars to submit invited articles to increase our understanding of cutting-edge methodology and analytic approaches used to tackle complex family and relationship phenomena and experiences. I expect articles of this nature to be invaluable in guiding and shaping future work submitted to the journal, which will ultimately increase the ability to make meaningful contributions to family science literature. I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve as the next Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Marriage and Family. I express sincere appreciation to my Editorial Assistants, Shailey Curtis and Cole Green, who enthusiastically agreed to join me on this journey. The future of JMF is bright. I am confident we will continue to attract high-quality submissions and expect to grow attention to the journal by utilizing social media outlets and other technology to enhance authors' ability to disseminate their research using these resources. I intend to highlight their positive experiences in the publication process to attract new scholarship to the journal authored by family scientist from a variety of disciplines and on multiple continents. I know that the scholarship published in the pages of this journal has the ability to make a strong, positive, meaningful impact on families and relationships by informing policy, practice, and future research.

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